San Mateo American downs Alpine to force if-necessary game in District 52 11-12s tourney

Well, make it six straight elimination-game wins, as American shellshocked Alpine with a 10-0 mercy-rule win at Mitchell Park. The victory forces an if-necessary game Thursday between the same two teams to decide the District 52 championship.

“I feel good,” San Mateo American catcher Ben Simon said. “They’re probably a little scared of us right now. But we’ve just got to keep winning.”

Simon and his battery mate, pitcher Milo Morelli, were primetime on the championship stage. Of the 12 outs Morelli recorded through four innings in the mercy-rule win, the right-hander struck out 11.

“He did great,” Simon said. “He was hitting his spots, a lot of strikeouts. They couldn’t touch him, which was really nice.”

Before Morelli even took the mound, Simon put American on the board in the top of the first inning with a thundering two-run home run well over the center-field wall. It was Simon’s fifth home run of the tournament.

“He’s been doing it all tournament,” San Mateo American manager Steve Church said. “His power is right-center field and that’s where he goes with the ball. He leads our team with the most RBIs. So, he’s been a powerhouse.”

Simon nearly had a second home run, sending a soaring fly ball to deep left field in the third inning. It had the distance to clear the wall, but Alpine left fielder Jax Cannon brought it back with an outstretched glove, nearly tumbling over the wall in the process.

Cannon’s defensive gem was one of Alpine’s lone highlights on the evening though, a far cry from the first meeting between the two teams June 27 when Alpine won 6-4.

“We didn’t get our bats going today and they played a great game,” Alpine manager Colin Cahill said. “Same two teams, different outcome.”

The first matchup between the two was actually Alpine’s second game of the tournament, but the first for American, which had a first-round bye.

“They had a little momentum coming into the game,” Church said. “And we were just a little flat, caught a little off guard. That first inning they put five (runs) on us. I think the boys were just a little antsy, wanting to hit and just kind of overthinking things a little bit.”

Wednesday’s rematch was a different story as American scored in every inning. But it was a six-run third inning that broke it open.

American sent 11 batters to the plate in the third, with Brody Crudeli leading off with a single to left. Crudeli went on to tab two hits in the innings, including a two-run single to cap the rally. Crudeli was 3 for 3 on the night.

Other highlights from the third-inning rally included a two-run single from Kurtis Lee and a two-run double from Jack Hickey. Lee’s bloop single to right saw Alpine second baseman Sullivan Fishbein and right fielder Kaenon Strick collide, with Strick hitting the turf hard. Alpine’s right fielder left due to injury but was able to walk off the field under his own power with a badly bruised leg.

On the other side of the ball, Morelli was firmly in control. The right-hander struck out the side in every inning but the third, using a three-pitch combination while spinning a dominatnt fastball as his bread-and-butter.

“I feel like I’ve got the batters off balance, and it just feels good,” Morelli said.

Morelli’s strikeout stuff was critical in the fourth inning as American attempted to invoke the mercy-rule win.

In the top of the fourth, American took the necessary 10-run lead when, after a Lee double, Cooper Hipps grounded out on a chopper to third base. Lee took third base on the throw to first, then scooted home when a throw from first to third went up the left-field line.

In the bottom of the fourth, Alpine looked to extend the game by opening the inning with back-to-back singles by Timothy Harrick and Fishbein. But the two runners never advanced as Morelli dug deep, striking out the next three batters to end it.

“Last game he kind of really came alive as far as his pitching,” Church said. “He earned the right to come out here today and battle. And we were completely 100% confident in his skills and we came out on top.”

Church said his American team had no apprehension heading into the must-win game.

“We look at is as just win the game that’s in front of us,” Church said. “If we have an elimination game, if we have a double elimination, it doesn’t matter to us. It’s going out and winning the game at hand. And all the boys are pretty confident in their skills, and what they can do. It’s been fun to watch them evolve into the group that they are as far as just all-for-one, everybody’s got their backs. There’s no poor attitudes in my dugout. It’s just good boys who want to go out there and play some ball.”

The District 52 tournament concludes Thursday at Mitchell Park. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.